Top Money Management Apps You Need in 2018

Mobile banking is nothing new, and credit unions are on the cutting edge, offering ATM locators, money transfers, deposits via photo, and more through their apps. But what if you want to go a step further in becoming a master of your money? You’re in luck. There’s an app—actually multiple apps!—for that.

No matter if you’re starting out and just want to track your spending or are ready for the deep dive into investments, we’ve researched some of the most popular and user-friendly financial management apps.

Free Apps

Mintis one of the most popular financial apps and for good reasons. It’s brought to you by Intuit Inc., the same minds behind Quick Books and TurboTax. Mint is best for budgeting but less effective at managing investments. It’s ideal for the beginner to proficient budget user.

Features:

Connect multiple banking accounts, credit cards, and monthly bills to the app to track all expenditures and transactions

Set reminders when bills are due and how much you owe so you’re never late on payments

Track spending habits with tips on how to save and better manage money

Free credit score with tips to improve (no credit card required)

Clarity Money offers unique features to save you money, although it doesn’t offer specific budgeting tools. This app would work well next to a strict budgeting app to help show were you can save money and automate saving.

Features:

Connect multiple banking accounts, credit cards, and monthly bills to the app to track all expenditures and transactions

Transfer money between banking accounts within app

Track expenses

Will negotiate with companies to lower your fixed bills (they charge a commission of 1/3 the total amount saved)

Identify subscriptions to cancel to save money (and they’ll do the canceling for you!)

Organize transactions into graphs to visualize habits, including daily spending

Save with an FDIC-insured bank account with automated, adjustable deposits

Personal Capitalis a comprehensive financial dashboard that tracks and clearly displays assets, liabilities, and net worth. In once glance, you can see all of your balances and account standings. This is a deeper dive into financial management, but if you’re interested in taking that leap, this is a great place to start.

Wallyis a simple app for tracking expenses. It’s a great way to see where your money is going, which is the first step in building a budget!

Features:

Record expenses by taking a picture of receipts

Categorize expenses (great for helping build a budget with other software or app)

Subscription-based Apps*

*Most of these have a free trial period to test out the app and services.

You Need a Budget (YNAB)does more than just track your spending, it helps you build a personalized budget and stick to it. (And let’s be honest, we all need support when it comes to sticking to our budget!). The app helps you become the master of your financial fate by giving every dollar a purpose, identifying your true expenses, and allowing you to stay flexible for unexpected life events. If you are looking to get out of debt with a budget, this is the app for you.

Features:

Bank syncing connect all accounts

Saving goals

Tracks expenses

Debt management

Personalized budget based on income, debt, bills, etc.

Build and adjust budget around your means so you’re guided to live within your financial abilities

If you get off track, app shows you how to back to your budget with tips on how to stay there

Share finances with a partner

Online budgeting workshops with live instructor and Q&A session

Graphs to view progress and habits

Small annual or monthly fee based on tiers

Budget Boss only costs $.99 on the App Store, but it can see into the future. Once you enter your income and expenditures, this app automatically graphs and predicts your checking and savings account balances up to two years in the future.

Features:

Track income and expenditures

Graphs and predicts future of checking and savings accounts based on current habits

Graphs to visualize cash-flow

Set up a budget and track how well you’re following it

Sync with calendar for bill reminders

Credit card payment and savings calculators

Tilleris aimed at those looking for a more hands-on approach to constructing a balance spreadsheet. Tiller connects with various financial institutions to combine all info and transactions into one Google Doc and then keeps that document updated.

Acorns helps you save painlessly and effortlessly. And for next to nothing (it’s free to college students and charges $1/month for most users). When you make a purchase with a card connected to Acorns, the app rounds the purchase up to next highest dollar and puts the difference into a portfolio that you select based on your risk preference. Now your pocket change is actually working for you, instead of sitting under the dryer and in between couch cushions! Depending on your spending habits, you could be seeing your investment account grow by a few hundred dollars in no time.

Features:

Help you save by depositing change into a portfolio of low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs)

Automate saving

Make saving a habit for you

LearnVestis similar to Personal Capital in that it creates a finance dashboard for you, along with offering investing and budgeting tools. It gives more investing and financial planning advice with successive subscription levels. With their Premium Plan, you get a personalized finance plan and advisor and access to even more tools.